On the Brink

 

On the brink of a new month

Another almost fade,

When compared to last year

Have you a better grade?

 

Should I answer honestly,

I really could not say so

But perhaps you have done better

Only you would know.

 

It’s not I haven’t striven

But most years go the same,

The downs will sometimes rule

And often the ups will reign.

 

It’s a roller coaster month

That happens every time

For me, it permeates the year-

Roller coaster is my kind.

 

 

It’s the pattern of life

Seemingly, on the brink,

Something is always promising

And that’s how I think.

 

A feeling to give up

And a drive to never quit,

One can’t be going all the time

Sometimes we have to sit.

 

Consistent reflection

And constantly projecting,

Strengthening that which remains

And needs protecting.

 

On the brink, I dare say,

Need not be precarious,

It could be something spectacular

Or something very precious.

 

July is almost ended

With all its highs and lows,

Its roller coaster breath-taking journey

Is almost at a close. 

 

It will be remembered

And this, for a long time,

An event that was low and yet high

Was the first of its kind.

 

 

On the brink of disaster

Just before it arrived

But over the precipice many went

And a few no longer alive.

 

Hurricane Beryl came

And took so much away,

Her voracious appetite drove her

And she had her say.

 

She has gone away

But her damage is left

Along with her many lessons

If we are not deaf.

 

On the brink again

With vital lessons learned

Hopefully to be put into practice

In the next sojourn.

 

This sojourn is August

Of which we’re on the brink,

Let not July lessons go to waste-

Swim lest you sink!

 

Stewart Russell © July 31, 2024

 

Asking the Hard Questions

 

 

After I have fasted

And after I have prayed,

After the solemn assembly

And my nerves are frayed,

After the prayer vigil

And after the prayer walk,

What do I do when nothing changes

And it seems just talk?

 

When people laugh

And they poke scorn at us,

When they mock at our God

And discredit the Lord Jesus,

When like in Elijah’s time

He mocked Baal’s prophets,

What do we do when this seems reversed

As a regular habit?

 

When God seems distant

And untraceable,

And there’s no apparent help

In time of great trouble,

And we say how great God is

But nothing ever happens,

Tell me what ought to be our response

When the unthinkable threatens?

 

 

When we pray for country

And it gets mockingly worse

And it appears that all we have done

Is to exacerbate its curse

Thus, a “where is your God”

Is the question scorners ask,

Please give me a watertight answer

Re this formidable task.

 

When I quote Scripture

About all God has done,

But yet in the recent past battles

Satan seemed to have won,

When the church seems clueless

Regarding what can be done,

Why should I not in frustration give up

And away from it run?

 

When Governments pretend

To respect the church

And call for its spiritual reflection

When the Nation hurts,

And when the church responds

Just as the Nation dictates,

Tell me this then, who is really in charge

Of the church’s fate? 

 

 

Is it not the Nation

That is calling the shots

To determine the church’s role

As well as its available slots?

When did Governments become

Regulators of the church?

How I wish the church would wake up

For this really hurts.

 

What exalts a Nation?

Is it still not righteousness?

Do we not see that our countries

Are one sordid mess?

Which churches will trumpet the call

For the country to repent

Rather than asserting their independence

And their fund-raising intent?

 

For our nation is divided

And so are our churches

And both have been majoring

In cosmetic excesses

Pretending to genuinely care

About God and the people

But yet guns, drugs and their importers

Make our lives miserable.

 

Rather than clean the mess

We pray for protection,

Rather than expose evil doers

We want God’s intervention

But He must operate on our terms

While we ignore His Word

Expecting Him to leave man unchanged

But fix the world.

 

 

Back in the Bible times

Whenever Israel strayed

They were instructed to repent

However hard they prayed,

So, however hard we pray

And however long we lament,

Will we bring God into our political affairs

And first up, genuinely repent?

 

Stewart Russell © July 28, 2024

 

Diplomacy and Hypocrisy

 

 

 

Diplomacy and hypocrisy

A thin line in between

And when it comes to yours truly,

I wonder whither which scene.

 

Now please do not get me wrong

Concerning the matter of tact,

Most often it is needed

And not that “in the face slap”.

 

But when it comes to me

It feels a little hypocritical,

Especially when engaging the elderly

I just don’t feel capable.

 

I don’t what to hurt their feelings

Though they need to hear the truth

So, I pretend to be at fault

And withhold that vital proof.

 

Sometimes dealing with older folk

You can get into a “to and fro”

In which they stem your every word

As if they really don’t know.

 

You are absolutely sure

That they are absolutely wrong

But you do not want the stemming

When they argue wrong and strong.

 

So, you decide to play along

For fear of being stemmed,

I truly regard this as hypocrisy

And I am surely in that realm.

 

“You look good,”

You may say to someone

When you definitely know it’s not,

Hypocrisy is the trap you set

And in your trap you got caught.

 

“But that’s a lie,” you’ll contend,

And you are absolutely right,

But I do not want to hurt that one

So, I avoid and diffuse the fight.

 

 

Diplomacy and hypocrisy

Where do I draw the line?

Tell me, where can I be consistent?

That is, if you have the time.

 

I do not need convincing

I am already convinced

But it is just that I am not prepared

To be viewed as an offense.

 

Some display diplomacy

But are downright hypocrites,

So, before I reach that point

Maybe, it is time I quit.

 

Stewart Russell © March 2020

 

Prophesying in Part

 

Let’s not get mixed up here

As some are wont to do,

This is not about false prophecy

Which never comes true.

 

The study of God’s Word

Ought to be a life-long endeavour,

It is God’s love letter to us

Of inestimable treasure.

 

Not even the most brilliant

Has a full grasp of God’s Word,

Even among the earliest apostles

This was unheard.

 

There is fore-telling

And there is telling forth

But it is prophesying future events

Of which many boast.

 

 

Some boast of 60% accuracy

Some boast a little bit more,

For some even 30% is allowable-

Though extraordinarily poor.

 

The Law was very harsh

On so-called fore-tellers,

If their prophecies did not come true

They were seen as liars.

 

Death was their reward

According Deuteronomy 18,

However, modern day prophets

Don’t fear such a scene.

 

“We know in part

And we prophesy in part”

Is now used by so-called prophets

With impure hearts.

 

An excuse for lying

That they had heard from God

When they themselves truly know

They hadn’t heard at all.

 

That which comes true

Is the prophesying in part

And these prophets must be forgiven

From the very start.

 

 

For they only know in part

And they prophesy in part

And the fact they are not perfect

Must be taken to heart.

 

So, while they quote the Word,

Their motive is wrong

And they make matters even worse

By being wrong and strong.

 

As you tell forth, my friend,

Rightly divide the word of truth,

Precept upon precept, line upon line

Must be the abiding proof.

 

 

We do prophesy in part

And this is relative to one’s light

But speaking when God did not speak

Is definitely not right.

 

Beware of false prophets

Is the caution to all,

Such seek to glorify themselves

Rather than God.

 

Stewart Russell © May 12, 2024

 

Another Version

  

 

 

Death is treatable

Both spiritual and physical,

Different from my first version

And far more reasonable.

 

The first was physical

And seemed void of sense,

This one is spiritual and physical

And needs no defense.

 

Technology is premise #1

Re medical exploration,

The Holy Spirit is premise #2

Re spiritual evaluation.

 

“If a man die,” asked Job,

“Shall he live again?”

John 11 supplies the answer

It’s yes, in Jesus’ name.

 

Jesus is the resurrection

And Jesus is the life

And though I die, yet shall I live,

Based on my belief in Christ.

 

 

So yes, death is treatable

If one dies in Christ,

Jesus Christ gives the guarantee

That one has eternal life.

 

As a matter of fact

The born-again never dies

And though I do not grasp it all,

Whom am I to deny?

 

All who were dead

In their trespasses and sins

Hath the Lord Jesus quickened

To forever live with him.

 

These are the born-again

That believe in Christ Jesus,

Having come to him in simple faith

As was told to Nicodemus.

 

Such a vast difference

From version # 1

In which skepticism is rife

And all hope is gone.

 

 

Not so with Christ

Who rose from the dead

And ever lives in the heavenlies

As our righteous head.

 

For Christ died once

That we may live forever,

For he is the way and the life

And there is not another.

 

Compare then, if you will,

If compare is applicable,

These two versions of treating death-

Which one is reasonable?

 

Clearly version #2

In which one is our hope,

For surely a promise after this life

Gives every reason to cope.

 

If this life were all

We would be most miserable,

But not so for the born-again

Who are God’s people.

 

 

In Revelation 21 we read,

“And they shall be his people”

And so, for me version #2

Is far more delightful.

 

Death is treatable

Says the Lord Jesus Christ,

From afar Job saw the answer

In Christ’s sacrifice.

 

“My redeemer lives,”

Of this he had no doubt,

And Job knew he too would live

Even if death took him out.

 

Job 19:25-27

For I know

That my redeemer lives,

And that he shall stand at the latter day

Upon the earth:

And though after my skin

Worms destroy this body,

Yet in my flesh shall I see God:

Whom I shall see for myself,

And mine eyes shall behold,

And not another.

 

Stewart Russell © October 10, 2023

 

By Name and Nature

 

 

Let me introduce myself

My name is Willy…

Actually it is Willy-Nilly

Come on now don’t be silly!

 

I am particularly well known

Especially in these days,

In some form or another

I influence most people’s ways.

 

Randomness is my specialty

I am not specifically focused

And often I am accused

Of playing hocus-pocus.

 

Lotto is akin to my nature

And I like blind-man cricket,

I play the numbers game

That’s how I protect my wicket.

 

I am Willy-Nilly

And that by name and nature,

By now if you’ve been thinking

You’ve probably seen my picture.

 

I operate in Parliament

And I function in the church

And in both of these institutions

I leave people in the lurch.

 

I am seen in every job

In positions high and low,

I encourage a lot of guesswork

And I hate when things flow.

 

 

I am ad hoc and haphazard

And very off and on,

Yes I am Willy-Nilly

Inconsistency is my norm.

 

I don’t think through a matter

I am hasty and impromptu,

I am a lucky-dip kind of person

And often don’t have a clue.

 

I am easy to implement

I thrive on a whim and fancy

And a glance at my disposition

Reveals I am very chancy.

 

I may disappoint today

But could be a hit tomorrow

Or today’s satisfaction

Could be tomorrow’s sorrow.

 

I am like the weather

Kind of perhaps or maybe,

By now you should have seen

Why they call me Willy-Nilly.

 

I am present in your life

In the hurried things you do,

I am your everyday consultant

Your counselor and attorney too.

 

I open and close at random

No fixed business times at all,

Morning, noon or night

At any time you can call.

 

 

Willy-Nilly, that is it

By name and by nature,

You will find me in every directory

And every daily newspaper.

 

I have made much money

And you can make some too,

If you want a Willy-Nilly experience

Just call me up, won’t you?

 

Stewart Russell © April 2019

 

Death Is Treatable

 

 

 

Death, I assure you,

Is a treatable condition,

Like the bug-bearer, cancer,

It goes into remission.

 

It is not a disease

As some want to believe

But rather, a state of not being,

Oh, I feel so relieved.

 

It is not infectious

Like a laugh or a smile

So that you cannot catch it

But it lasts for a while.

 

It is treatable

Yes, a cure has been found!

So, please don’t be in a hurry

To go underground.

 

If someone has died

That you know quite well,

Let them stay above ground

At least for a spell.

 

 

We are on the cusp

Of something really great,

Technology can treat to death

It need not be a date.

 

The moment one dies

Quickly swap out his brain,

Give him a heart transplant

And change all his veins.

 

Give him a blood transfusion

And reinstall his mind,

Then run him on solar power

For an appropriate time.

 

Closely monitor him

For a day or two

Just to make sure he is himself

And not me or you.

 

Now you know as I do

That death is treatable

And all one needs to do is die

To prove it is possible.

 

Any candidates out there?

I won’t be the first!

Death is a one-time happening

And cannot be rehearsed.

 

It is treatable, though,

Try it out for yourself,

You would be a good candidate

If you have poor health.

 

You must die first

If you expect this to work

And it is a painless procedure,

It does not hurt.

 

One thing more

That I almost forgot,

You must not lose consciousness…

At least, not the whole lot.

 

 

If you are conscious

This procedure is possible

And I guarantee you at the end,

It will be successful.

 

Yes, death is treatable

Like any normal disease,

Trust me on this one, my friend,

And don’t be a tease.

 

“Why not me?” you asked,

Is this what I heard?

If I am hearing you correctly

You’ve got to be absurd.

 

I can’t try it for you,

That wouldn’t make sense,

I mean, your death is treatable,

Please, no offense.

 

Stewart Russell © October 10, 2023